Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT) Shares Down 5.5% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• Shares fell 5.5% to about $29.00 midday on Monday on light trading (31,078 shares, down ~86% from the average session volume), after closing at $30.70 previously.
• Maplight reported Q1 EPS of ($2.47), missing the consensus of ($1.05) and faces a projected -3.87 EPS for the year; the stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion and a negative PE of -0.72.
• Analyst and investor activity is mixed: MarketBeat shows a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $34.43, while major institutions (e.g., T. Rowe Price, Goldman Sachs, Fcpm III) added large new stakes and several directors made insider purchases in February.

Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) traded down 5.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $29.00 and last traded at $29.0040. 31,078 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 229,330 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.70.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on MPLT. Weiss Ratings began coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. They set a "sell (e)" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Maplight Therapeutics from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, March 21st. HC Wainwright initiated coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Monday. They set a "buy" rating and a $45.00 price target for the company. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Maplight Therapeutics in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC began coverage on shares of Maplight Therapeutics in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $37.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Maplight Therapeutics presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $34.43.

Maplight Therapeutics Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $1.21 billion and a PE ratio of -0.72. The business's 50-day moving average price is $22.19.

Maplight Therapeutics (NASDAQ:MPLT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, March 26th. The company reported ($2.47) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($1.05) by ($1.42). As a group, research analysts predict that Maplight Therapeutics, Inc. will post -3.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Maplight Therapeutics news, Director Timothy John Garnett acquired 14,124 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $17.89 per share, with a total value of $252,678.36. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 14,124 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $252,678.36. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director George Pavlov bought 10,658 shares of Maplight Therapeutics stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $17.48 per share, with a total value of $186,301.84. Following the acquisition, the director owned 10,658 shares of the company's stock, valued at $186,301.84. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have acquired 39,124 shares of company stock valued at $693,846 and have sold 148,432 shares valued at $4,040,446.

Institutional Trading of Maplight Therapeutics

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MPLT. Fcpm Iii Services B.V. purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the fourth quarter valued at about $56,672,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,154,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,026,000. Nan Fung Group Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter worth approximately $17,060,000. Finally, 5AM Venture Management LLC purchased a new position in Maplight Therapeutics in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,687,000.

Maplight Therapeutics Company Profile

We are a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on improving the lives of patients suffering from debilitating central nervous system, or CNS, disorders. We were founded by globally recognized leaders in psychiatry and neuroscience research to address the lack of circuit-specific pharmacotherapies available for patients. Our discovery platform holds the potential to fill this void by identifying neural circuits causally linked to disease and targeting those circuits for therapeutic modulation.

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